Burke County unemployment decreases. Here's what jobs are open in the area

Burke County unemployment fell to 3.3% in April, down from 3.4% in March.

The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metropolitan statistical area saw the same drop from 3.4% in March to 3.3% in April, according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

Burke County has a labor force of 38,496, which means with an unemployment rate of 3.3%, 1,259 people in the labor force in the county are out of work, according to data from the commerce department.

Many retail and fast-food restaurants are hiring.

NC Works shows Dollar General has 71 full- and part-time job openings in Burke County, including at its Morganton, Connelly Springs, Valdese, Glen Alpine and Hildebran stores.

Food Lion has 31 full- and part-time openings in the county, including in Valdese, Morganton and Hildebran for jobs such as cake decorator, cashier, deli, evening manager, customer service and quality assurance.

McDonald's has 26 openings at its locations in Morganton, Valdese and Icard, including for shift managers and crew team members. And Burger King has 12 openings at its Morganton and Icard locations for jobs such as general manager, assistant managers, shift managers, team leaders and team members.

Walmart has 16 openings at its locations in Morganton, including for an asset protection associate, sales floor, checkout, seasonal team supervisor, stocking trainer and janitorial team.

Cracker Barrel restaurant in Morganton has 16 job openings that include dishwasher, cook, to-go specialist, night maintenance, server, busser and guest sales and service.

In healthcare, UNC Health Blue Ridge has 31 openings, including physicians, nurse practitioners and radiologists.

The state's Department of Health and Human Services also needs workers for 41 openings at J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center and Broughton Hospital, both in Morganton. Openings include social worker, food service, registered nurse, speech and language, occupational therapist, caseworker, rehabilitation and warehouse.

For people looking for manufacturing work, Valdese Weavers has 39 openings, Bimbo Bakeries has 10 openings, MillerKnoll has five openings and Packaging Corporation of America has four openings.

To search for jobs in Burke or surrounding areas, visit www.ncworks.gov.

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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 5:35 AM.